Suspending Fate
by kaly
Summary: What if there had been more time during one scene toward the end of the movie? Adds to TPM scene.


Title: Suspending Fate   
Author: [kaly][1]   
Homepage: [Kalynn's Fan Fiction][2]   
Rating: PG Archive: please ask first Classification: short story, angst   
Warnings: angst, sorta AU/sorta missing scene Spoilers: big time for TPM   
Summary: What if there had been more time during one scene toward the end of the movie? Adds a bit to existing scene.   
Feedback: Please feed the starving plot bunnies. It only takes an email - and you too can help keep them away from me *g* Seriously, I love knowing if you enjoyed my stories. 

Notes: I'm going by memory on the little bit of actual dialogue I'm trying to use - so I'm probably way off, but I couldn't bring myself to use the novelization (I didn't like it that much) 

Disclaimer: If they were mine this story wouldn't be necessary. So, I guess that means they belong to George Lucas. I know I'm sneaking playtime with someone else's toys, but I'm putting them back in the condition I found them. Why sue? I'm a college student. 

Suspending Fate 

The defeated Sith tumbled downward, the separated halves of his body falling to whatever lay at the heart of the chasm. However, as Obi-Wan Kenobi turned off the lightsaber that he held tightly in his hand, it was not the falling Sith that held his attention. 

Not sparing a second glance to the pit, he moved without thought. During the fight he had warred with his own anger and hate as much as the dark warrior. It was only by some miracle of the Force that he had succeeded in both battles. 

Now it was a different emotion that lapped at his heart. The anger was gone, and in its place grew an immeasurable fear of what still might be lost. 

Dropping to his knees beside Qui-Gon, he gently pulled the Jedi Master to him, hesitantly touching the still features. 

"Master." The word tore from his throat, harsh in the silent room. 

When Qui-Gon's eyes slowly opened, Obi-Wan's breath hitched in his chest. He was caught between the urge to cry, again staring into familiar blue depths, and the need to stay in control of his emotions. 

"It's too late, my Padawan." 

Obi-Wan fought the words, shaking his head defiantly. Through clenched teeth, he replied, "No." 

"Obi-Wan . . ." 

The young Jedi flinched at the airy weakness that permeated his Master's words. "No," he repeated. Closing his eyes against the tears that sought to gather within them, he added in a whisper, "I won't lose you." 

Qui-Gon smiled faintly. Drawing in a ragged breath, he raised his arm to wipe away the moisture that had trailed unnoticed down Obi-Wan's cheeks. Obi-Wan leaned into the touch, feeling the warmth against his skin. "Obi-Wan." 

With another shake of his head, Obi-Wan tightened his grip on Qui-Gon. Pulling the Force to him, Obi-Wan focused its energies on Qui-Gon's wound, hoping to change the inevitable. 

"Padawan," Qui-Gon said, his voice weakening. 

The eyes that turned to meet Qui-Gon's gaze, swirling mists of blue and green, gave the stoic Master pause. "I won't lose you," Obi-Wan repeated, strength borne of desperation in his voice. 

_There's too much to say, and not enough time, Obi-Wan,_ Qui-Gon said silently. 

Still struggling to focus a healing energy on Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan gasped when the energy seemed to leap out of his grasp and spin in the air around them of its own volition. "Master?" he asked in an uncertain voice as a sudden breeze moved around them, ruffling his hair. 

Tearing disbelieving eyes from Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan looked up to see the laser walls that had trapped him only moments earlier, paused and silent in mid-rotation. 

Turning his eyes back to his Master, he spoke in a rough whisper. "I think we've just been given time." 

Qui-Gon's eyes widened as he sought to understand what was happening. Taking a breath, he was surprised to find the aching pain in his chest lessened. "Obi-Wan, what have you managed to do?" A mixture of surprise and pride filled his voice. 

"I've done nothing, Master." As Obi-Wan spoke, he reached out with a tentative hand to brush the loose strands of hair from his Master's face. 

"It feels as if we are suspended in time itself," Qui-Gon observed. 

Obi-Wan reached out through the Force and found the answer he sought. He nodded. "I think we may be. A second, a lifetime. Neither exists in this very moment." 

Qui-Gon closed his eyes for the briefest moment, and replied, "Somehow, you are right. Still," he paused before pressing onward. "You cannot save me, Obi-Wan. My fate has been decided." 

Obi-Wan blinked rapidly, forcing the moisture away from his eyes once more. He marveled at the acceptance that seemed to fill Qui-Gon in that moment, even as his own heart raged against it. "If that is so," he said a second later, "then even a moment is precious." 

"Do not cry, my Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said in a hushed voice, seeing the moisture on Obi-Wan's face that the Padawan himself did not even realize was there. 

Shaking his head, Obi-Wan pulled his Master's hand into his own. "Fate or not," Obi-Wan said, "I cannot accept this." 

"You must, Padawan," Qui-Gon replied around shallow breaths. "It is done." 

"It should have been me," Obi-Wan said in a quiet voice, staring at their hands for a moment. 

"Never," Qui-Gon replied in a voice lined with steel. He tugged softly on Obi-Wan's braid. "You have a great destiny to fulfill." 

Obi-Wan searched Qui-Gon's gaze through a sheen of tears. "How is it my destiny is more important than yours?" 

"Nothing happens by chance, Obi-Wan. You know this." 

Obi-Wan sniffed quietly, his eyes never leaving Qui-Gon's. "How is my destiny to unfold without you in it?" 

"I will always be with you, Obi-Wan. As the Force is with you. You've only to think of me." 

"Always the teacher," Obi-Wan said. Tears slipped unbidden down Obi-Wan face, landing softly on Qui-Gon's tunic. "I'm sorry," he breathed a moment later. 

"No sorrier than I, that I should leave you now." Qui-Gon paused, before continuing, "Never doubt how much you've meant to me, Obi-Wan. You are always my greatest joy." 

He squeezed Obi-Wan's hand as tightly as his weakened body would allow. _Never forget._

Obi-Wan shook his head, responding to the plea only he could hear. _Never, Master._

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, seeking to balance himself. "Master, I . . ." he began aloud, but was cut off when the energies that swirled around them began to slow and fade. 

"Master?" he asked a second later, searching Qui-Gon's gaze for answers. 

Qui-Gon blinked slowly, and looked again into Obi-Wan's pain filled eyes. "Time is slipping away, Padawan." 

Denial flared in Obi-Wan's eyes. "No," the plea tore through clenched teeth as he again tried to focus the swirling energy into a healing blanket around Qui-Gon. 

A shuddering gasp ripped from Qui-Gon's chest as time righted itself completely. "Promise me you'll train the boy." 

Obi-Wan could hear the finality in his Master's voice, and held him tighter, the Force slipping beyond his grasp. "Master . . ." 

"Promise me, Obi-Wan." 

Through his clashing emotions, Obi-Wan could read the trust that shone in Qui-Gon's eyes, eyes that suddenly seemed to burn with the joy of uncounted mysteries solved. "Yes, Master," he managed to whisper. 

Qui-Gon's eyes drifted closed, only to open again. "He is the Chosen One. Train him." 

Sobs wracked Obi-Wan's chest as he listened to his Master's words. He nodded, even as pain anew tore at him as he listened to him speak of the boy, but he pushed it aside. In the scant moments Obi-Wan knew remained, petty jealousies weren't what mattered. 

"Master?" he asked in an uncertain whisper when Qui-Gon lay still. 

The Jedi Master's eyes opened half-way, glazed over with pain as a shudder pulsed through him. "Obi-Wan?" he asked in a voice not even quite a whisper. 

Obi-Wan's fist clenched in the fabric of Qui-Gon's tunic. "I've got you, Master," he said around shallow, gasping breaths. "I've got you," he repeated. 

_I love you, Master._

_And I you, Obi-Wan,_ he projected to the trembling Apprentice. His eyes slid closed as he lost the fight with the pain that filled his body. 

As his struggling breaths slowed and finally ceased, Obi-Wan's hold did not loosen. He could feel Qui-Gon's presence slipping away even as his physical hold on the Jedi remained firm. 

"Master?" he asked, disbelief making the word rasp unevenly. 

Kneeling forward, Obi-Wan pressed his forehead to Qui-Gon's. Moments passed, with Obi-Wan's stifled sobbing the only sound in the room. 

"Master," he breathed mournfully, his shoulders shaking. The strangled word was spoken to no one and anyone. For the only one Obi-Wan wished to hear, he knew could hear him no longer. 

End 

[kaly][1]

   [1]: mailto:razrbkr@juno.com
   [2]: http://www.geocities.com/kalyw 



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